Journey to the West!
by PetYW
Summary: The world faces a dark catastrophe and all hopes are gone... But the people who are against evil are out to save the day, the Church of the God of Light and the Three Aspects of Heaven has sent their "precious high-priests" to the west, where the corruption started. Together with their companions, testing their strengths, faith, trust, friendship, they go on a Journey to the West!
1. Journey Begins!

DN: I do not own Legend of the Sun Knight and Saiyuki series.

AN: I was sidetracked to reading the wonderful classic by Kazuya Minekura and this idea just popped out of nowhere! Hahaha... Still, I love both stories and thought it was quite similar to the later volumes of LSK (major spoiler, but not quite). And really, Sanzo and Sun are somewhat the same, I mean, they're both very **high ranking priests**but gambles, smokes, drinks, and uses gun (Sanzo) and likes women, money, wine, and knows necromancy (Sun). And they have acquaintances which are "of the dark".

Oh well, please do enjoy this mash-up! Don't forget to comment and suggest! ^.^

* * *

Shang Ri La…

…A world where human and youkai, science and magic, once co-existed in harmony.

That balance was suddenly broken by something 'unknown', though dark and vile. It devoured the land causing great disaster to every living thing in its realms.

The world started to crumble towards darkness. Youkais started losing control, the undead started increasing in number, the earth's life force just slowly diminishes, natural calamity became worse to worst, human's fears went higher and higher…

So for the sake of restoring 'order' in the world, a journey to the West, where all evil seemed to sprout from, was made… And it will be one heck of a journey.

* * *

In a faraway kingdom of Forgotten Echo, inside the Church of the God of Light…

"You know very well about this issue at hand. It is something that _**you**_ should fix." A young looking pope said with a serious expression. He looked in the direction of a certain holy knight with hair of gold and eyes so blue. The holy knight himself looked quite troubled.

"I know that it is my responsibility since 'dealing with the dark' is one of my duties but you should know as well that this immensely massive 'dark energy' can't be dealt by just me and my men. Heck, if it is as serious as this, we should even need your power too." The holy knight replied.

"I know that as well. But we can't dispatch the whole church or else no one will protect the kingdom and the church. The Church of the God of War is also in the same predicament as us but all they could do is use their strength and defend. Unlike us, they can't 'purify' this darkness and are barely holding on." He went and read past documents pertaining to the issue while explaining.

"Yes, I am aware of that. But do you have any idea what caused all this?"

"I don't really know what it may be. But I have an idea, a theory without any basis."

"It's better than nothing."

The young man took a deep breath. "I believe the Church of the God of Darkness has something to do with it. They may be trying to resurrect a great evil being that was once subdued by the gods."

"That- Then, what are you suggesting we do?" The holy knight was quite shocked by the idea.

"I guess I'll have you go west and confirm my guess. Then you decide what to do next."

"Easier said than done. That's a very long way. And we can't really waste time if ever I decided to bring down the cause. The roundtrip is not that short."

"We'll, that may be why I'll be sending you together with the other Knight Captains. Me and the platoon can manage in your absences. We must stop this corruption at all cost!"

* * *

*Sigh*

I am a knight. To be precise, I am the Church of Light's Sun Knight. As to why I'm sighing, the conversations up above reveals it all. It's not like I'm deeply troubled about this whole evil corruption thing, it's the fact that I have to leave the church, travel an agonizingly long time to the west to the church of the Shadow God, be under the hot sun against all odds, this kind of errand is something so tiresome. No wine, no babes, no rest!

But still, the issue about the end of the world is so intense that I have to sacrifice. For the benevolent God of Light, bless me for I will be your servant and carry mission to cleanse the world of darkness and bathe it once more under your benevolent light.

So now, here I am walking down the corridors towards the meeting room where all the other Knight Captains and their Vice-captains are waiting for me. I have to break in the news for I am, after all, the leader of the Holy Knights.

"Captain! We've been waiting." Adair, my vice-captain told me. He was waiting by the door expecting my arrival. He opened the door and let me in and we seated at the table with all the knights looking at me with anticipation.

*Ahem ahem* I coughed to clear up my throat and to break in the silence.

"A-" I started when one of the captains, Storm Knight, raised his hand and interrupted me.

"With all due respect, as this is a serious matter, I humbly respect that you use _plain_ and _simple_, _easy-to-understand_ words and sentences." He said with all sincerity. I don't blame him though. I am actually quite happy that he did. He did us all favor.

Why you ask? For the whole continent know that the Sun Knight speaks of the God of Light in every sentence and no matter what happens, he must always, always, connect it to the God of Light no matter what the topic may be. And for that, I was spared from saying, and they too, from hearing this:

_(WARNING! The following texts are full of God of Light nonsense. __**Skip**__ if needed)_

"_This Sun has been enlightened by the benevolent _God of Light_ under the words of his Pope of this heart breaking news of the corruption that is eating away the life of the earth. It was a grave situation now that even with the luminance of the benevolent _God of Light_ that the darkness has sprouted evil and that we must defend our land with the help of the benevolent _God of Light_ from the creatures of doom. In this sense, it was agreed upon me and the pope that we take action and spread light once more under the guidance of the benevolent _God of Light_ and that whatever may be the cost must we pursue and hold on. The pope has given his thoughts about this dark event and that he sensed great evil where the followers of the Shadow God has taken action and that it itself must be stop by means the benevolent _God of Light_ will._

_It was a sad predicament but as the _God of Light_ will do, this Sun will take the arduous journey to defend the living and destroy darkness with the help of the benevolent_ God of Light_. In line with this, the pope believes that Sun alone cannot fight this great evil and that the aid of the other knights dedicated to the benevolence of the _God of Light_ is needed. So the benevolent _God of Light_ has prepared this journey to the west with the help of everybody carrying the principles of the _God of Light_ itself and end this nightmare the land is facing. The pope has also taken the sacrifice to head the church in the absence of our presence and that the vice-captains must be one with the _God of Light_ in protecting the kingdom and its people. Since the journey towards peace is too long and hard, the _God of Light_ may send us difficulties along the way and so it is up to you guys to continue our mission to spread the benevolence of the _God of Light_. In this expense, I ask all of you your cooperation to bring the teachings of the _God of Light_ and stop the growing darkness that threatens all…"_

That's the summary though, I can't take up too much time thinking of the whole speech or you'll never see the end to it.

Well, going back to reality. I directed my gaze to Storm and gave him a reassuring smile. It's not my imagination but I do think everyone in the room except Judge and Ice, sighed a sigh of relief. I'm sure Judge and Ice would do too if not for their ever-there stoic expression.

"Well then, as you all know, the Pope and Sun have discussed this event concerning the evil corruption happening and it was hypothesized by the Pope that it may have been the work of the Church of the God of Darkness. If that was the case, it is our duty to stop this and so the Pope asks all twelve captains of the Holy Church to travel west and seek the roots of it all. Also, since all of us captains will be out, the vice-captains should fill in our roles and report to the Pope." I said with a serious tone.

This report made everyone lost in thoughts. It has been some time already since the corruption and the dangers of going outside the country is just increasing by the day. And to mention that the destination is towards the root of this darkness, the threats just pile up.

"It's no use worrying about it now. The situation has already been this grave and we'll sooner or later be dealing with it. So I think it is better that we deal with it now, as early as possible to avoid any worse case scenario. And the order is absolute. We can only follow." Judge commented breaking the intense atmosphere lurking in the room.

"I guess you're right Knight-Captain Judge. Then tell us when do we depart." Ice Knight said.

"I suppose we travel three days from now. Finish any unfinished business, command your platoon, and prepare for this very long journey." I answered. Since no one seemed to disagree, I dismissed the meeting. I went to the Sun Knight Platoon right after the meeting and briefed the other guys for the next days. There was quite a turmoil about the upcoming absence of all the captains but it was settled in the end.

* * *

Three days later, eleven knights in their travel clothes were gathered outside the church. They were waiting for their leader to finish the talk with the Pope.

"I'm sorry my brothers. The talk with the Pope is quite lengthy that's why Sun was delayed." I said.

"What did you talk about?" Leaf Knight asked. Though, it seems like everyone else wants to know.

"As you can see, the Pope gave us this travel clothes that has no connection to the church in any way. He said it was a precaution to avoid alarming the Church of the Shadow God. In this sense, we are ordered to hide our identities and disguise ourselves as just an ordinary adventure party." I answered.

"Then, we can't use our holy magic?" Ice Knight asked.

"Not necessarily. Of course, in dire situations, we have to use all means we have. But we'll have to avoid using it if we can." I replied.

"That's troubling for _you_… I mean, for us since we are limited to using _only_ swords." Metal Knight commented. His tongue is as sharp as always.

"Well then brothers." I ignored Metal Knight's words. "Let us leave now, we have a very long way to go. Let's go to the west!"

* * *

In a Buddhist land somewhere in China, in the temple of the Settling Sun…

"Genjo Sanzo, servant of the Lord of the Heavens, at your service." A young monk with blond hair, deep purple eyes and a mark on his forehead greeted.

"Welcome Sanzo, we are running out of time. Our apologies for calling you in such short notice." The three aspects said.

"Not at all." The monk replied.

"You know of these 'strange occurrences' that are disrupting the world, I suppose. From the west to the east… Even as we speak, the casualties are growing throughout all of Shang Ri La. The humans are under the threats of these and are living in fear every day." They explained.

"Who could possibly be the mastermind behind this?" the monk wondered.

"Sanzo, do you know of 'Gyuu-maou?"

"He's a demon king who refused to live with humans peacefully. So 500 years ago, the God of War subdued him in the far west."

"Someone is trying to revive that same Gyuu-maou. On top of that, by doing it using forbidden incantation, the balance in the universe is disrupted. It results now to the growing minus wave corrupting the land and the living.

Genjo Sanzo, you are hereby ordered, along with your former comrades, Son Goku, Sha Gojyo, and Cho Hakkai, to go to the western lands. There, you shall stop the resurrection of Gyuu-maou and restore Shang Ri La to the way it was before."

"As you command." The monk accepted.

* * *

I am a Buddhist priest. Though I am not that devoted to the teachings of Buddha, I am a high ranking priest – a Sanzo priest.

Now, I'm travelling together with Goku to a nearby village to meet up with two more guys to accompany me in this journey mentioned above. This is troubling since our enemy are youkais or demons and yet…

"I'm hun~gry~!" a certain boy complained. "How long before we met up with Gojyo and Hakkai? I'm starving to deat-"

"Stop whinning!" I scolded while hitting the boy with paper fan on the head – hard. "To hear this coming from a guy who wouldn't die even if I killed him…"

"That's because I'm rechargeable!"

"That's not something to be proud of!"

Then, just as Goku was about to retort to me, a group of demons appeared and started attacking. Though it wasn't that much of a problem since we're used to fighting.

Goku called his weapon, Nyoi-bou, and counter-attacked the demons who were approaching us. Of course, I did not let any of them come near me. They fall dead with a head shot I gave through my gun. But even that, they're just too many and it would really be disadvantageous to us.

Then a chained sickle started cutting the enemies like sashimi. It was Gojyo. It seemed they went to us instead of waiting in the rendezvous point.

"Yo! Good for nothing priest and stupid monkey!" A red-haired guy greeted with a grin.

"Hello!" A calm looking gentleman with a spectacle said with a warm smile.

"Gojyo! Hakkai!" Goku said enthusiastically. "I told you to stop calling me stupid monkey! You perverted kappa!" he then protested to Gojyo.

"Then, is it Chibi-monkey eh?" Gojyo snapped back. It was the usual that these two stupid children fight whenever they're together. It is as if destiny says that whenever they meet, an annoying fight must commence.

"How'd you know we're here?" I asked the only other sensible person in the group, Hakkai.

"We felt an enormous amount of evil aura gathering here." He replied. Well, it's true that with these number of demons attacking us, with a killing intent surpassing normal sanity, these two have no reason not to be curious.

"Those earcuffs and diadem… Youryoku limiters?! You three are youkais?! Why- Why are you fighting us?!" A random demon asked pointing to Gojyo, Hakkai and Goku.

"I'll tell you! If you're still alive by then!" Goku said just before killing the demon.

This is troubling since our enemy are youkais or demons and yet... my companions themselves are _demons_.

* * *

"_Honorable three aspects. There's something I would like to ask. Why have you chosen those three who are youkais?" I asked before leaving the temple._

"_They may be youkais, but they're also 'humans'. Genjo Sanzo, you should already know that well. The scars from each's past has become the thread that binds you together now. Their strength that can rival that of a youkai are our last hope."_

"_There's no doubt that I acknowledge their strength, however, s long as they have youkai blood flowing through their veins, there's no telling when or where that blood will invoke and turn against us. Granting them our trust is an act of suicide."_

"_Then Sanzo, you must place your trust in the eyes of your heart."_

_Eyes of my heart? I don't understand…_

* * *

The three of them fought as if they were playing, enjoying while killing those demons. Well, they're undoubtedly strong so the small fries couldn't ever compete. One by one, the wall of surrounding demons vanished to pieces or corpses.

I stood watching them massacre the ambushing party.

"Hold it, our comrades…" a demon struggled to say while trying to live after the attacks of those guys. "You traitors who side with the humans, your place is not with them. Reconsider and join us once again… Long live the Youkai Empi-!"

He wasn't even let to finish when Goku, Gojyo, and Hakkai killed him simultaneously.

"He sure does talk a lot of b*llsh*t." Gojyo remarked.

"Human side?" Goku said. "Since the day I was born, till the day I die…"

"I stand only _by __**my**__ side!_" The three of them chorused.

_Trust in my own eyes… _I still don't know what it means, but well...

"Come on. Let's go to the west!" I said to them facing the direction to where the sun sets.

**-Chapter End-**


	2. The Sun Knight Company

DN: I do not own Legend of the Sun Knight and Saiyuki series.

AN: Okay... I'm sooo sooo tardy, lazy to write and was almost at the point of forgetting bout this... It took some time for me to squeeze in between study, procrastinating and lazing around to write... Oh well, here goes nothing though... Please do comment/suggest!

* * *

"UwaAaAah~! It's so hot! This is torture!" I complained while fanning as if my life depended on it. It was as if I'm inside an oven waiting to be cooked.

"Will you be a bit quieter, Creus! It's only been a few minutes since we left town and you're already like that!" Leithe, Judge Knight, said. He also seemed to be uncomfortable because of the heat. But then, I'm the only one complaining. Why?

We have departed Forgotten Echo and are now making our way to the west. As disguise, we decided to use our real names for this journey. It is safe to use our real names since no one but us really uses them. I mean, why would people bother to remember different names of knights when they changes every generation? With that said, "Sun Knight" is enough for me.

We went with two cabs and split our group in half. It is a risk but travelling in a dozen is too attracting which would erase the purpose of our disguises… and also, we can't fit in the cab. So we went with two teams travelling two different routes. That way, no one will mistake us as the Twelve Captains of the Church of the God of Light. We agreed to meet in one village which is the nearest one to our destination before going in as one group. A plan we came up after much deliberation.

But we can't go with the "Warm Faction" and the "Cruel Faction" grouping since it will be easily recognized. You can't really miss them if six men whose gloomy and scary aura radiates whenever they're together or when six men whose brightness could light up an underground cave. So we went with lottery to divide us. So I'm stuck with Leithe-Judge Knight, Roland-Hell Knight, Ceo-Storm Knight, Elmairy-Leaf Knight, and Ecilan-Ice Knight. The other team is made up with Flame Knight, Earth Knight (I'm definitely thankful to the God of Light for this one), Cloud Knight, Metal Knight, Stone Knight and Moon Knight. It was half-warm, half-cruel faction teaming. It was actually fine since there never was a conflict between the two factions unlike what the whole continent knows.

"But what can I do? It really is hot out here." I retorted back emphasizing the word 'hot'. Beads of sweat came tumbling down my forehead. It could be another effect of the 'corruption'.

"Really, your whining makes it even hotter! It is your fault after all that you lost to Georgo when choosing the route. You'll just have to endure it." Ceo said. He was the one driving our cabby. And even though he didn't remove his gaze from the road to glare at me, his back is telling me threats I don't want to know.

"It was Earth's, I mean, Georgo's fault. He cheated."

How am I supposed to know Earth Knight is good at Janken? That's why we lost and have to take the desert route.

"Come on Creus, it's not like the temperature will cool down if you complain." Elmairy joined the bullying group. Even the sweet, kind Elmairy…

"Hey Roland, say something! They're too much, blaming me for this misfortune!" I looked at Roland with my most pitiable face. But he kept still looking at the road avoiding my glare.

"If you won't quiet down, you won't receive any sweets later." Ecilan threatened. And why is it that you use sweets as blackmail material?!

"Wha-!?" I immediately looked at Ecilan and saw his never changing cold expression. I wanted to complain but remembered Ecilan's threat so I hurriedly quieted down. Still, the temperature is too hot. And according to Storm, it will take at least five hours to cross this burning land.

It was all quiet during the journey. It seems I was stuck with a very silent and serious group. If Metal Knight, Earth Knight or Flame Knight was here, it would at least be a little bit louder. After what seem like a long time, we finally arrived at an oasis so we, of course, decided to take a rest.

"I never knew this journey would be this carefree and boring." Elmairy commented. "It's just too easy. Even if this was a desert, I was kind of expecting some group of undead then attack us or something like that."

I was quite dumbfounded that Elmairy is thinking of such negative thoughts. Aren't they happy nothing bad has happened to us during the trip? I mean, is he that much of a sadist? Is he really looking forward for a fight?

"You're right. Well, it has only been a few hours since we left Forgotten Echo. They still must be unaware that the captains are all gone." Leithe added. They all nodded as if they all expected the same thing.

"What? You guys thought of-" I was about to say something when I felt a dark aura coming towards us. "Something's coming."

"What?" Ceo asked. But I didn't need to answer. An undead monster emerged from beneath the sands and went to look in our direction. It looked like wild animal with really dark fur, red eyes, sharp teeth and nails, quite scary, I must say. It seems to say something but humans can't talk monster language.

"Food." Roland said.

_Huh?_

"You hungry or something?" I asked giving Roland a weird look. Why would Roland mention food in this kind of situation? I mean, yes, the monster looked enticing if it wasn't a dark creature. The meat would definitely be a feast and with Ecilan's great cooking, its taste would probably be richer than any meat I've ever tasted.

"It said 'food'. It seems the monster found us delicious. I don't eat, remember?" He said slightly riled.

_Oh yeah. He's one of those 'monsters'. A death lord! How could I forget?_

The monster don't seem able to wait anymore, without warning, it lunged at us with its fangs exposed. We all dodged its punch by miracle. It was fast, but I guess, these guys are faster.

_Yeah, I wasn't able to dodge the attack on my own, Judge just pushed me out of the way. But hey, I'm still alive._

Without wasting time, they unsheathed their weapons and started attacking. The monster had bad luck since it chose to feed on such strong guys. With pinpoint accuracy, Elmairy sent an arrow blinding its right eye which Ceo followed with a kick on the head. Then Leithe and Ecilan gave it a deep cut leaving Roland to give the finishing blow. Since I was deemed useless in this battle, I went and cleanse the butchered creature of darkness, blessing it in the name of the God of Light. The creature bathed with my Holy Light then dissipated in the air.

"Well then, I guess we have thought right." Elmairy said.

"Yeah, but it's just a crazed beast. It's not yet from the dark church." Ceo remarked.

"Then we should better be moving now. We don't want to wait for them here." Leithe said leading back to the cab.

"You're right. And we need to find a place to stay for the night." Ecilan followed.

* * *

We arrived at a town by night. It was quite a tiresome journey so we asked directly for an inn. When we asked for six rooms, they said that they only have two rooms available.

"I guess we'll take it. We don't have any more strength to look for another inn." Leithe said. We split into our own factions for whom we'd share the room.

Once inside, Ceo and Elmairy went and slept immediately. Well, I can understand them. They're the ones who alternately switched for the driver's position.

It was a quiet night and I'm supposed to follow them to sleep but I just can't seem to since we'll be left unguarded. _I have to remain awake so that I can wake them when a group of undead suddenly attacks u… I mean, I have to stay awake to guard these two if ever a group of undead suddenly attacks us._

Then a knock came to my door.

"Creus, you still awake?" it said. It was Leithe. No questions asked, I went and opened the door. He was looking tired as well but he kept his stoic expressions while staring at me. He came inside and observed our room, especially the two guys dead asleep. "Would you like to switch? I can stay here as guard and you'll be safe in the other room with Roland and Ecilan."

"Nah, it's ok. It's not like I can't take care of myself. Go and sleep. You guys should be tired." I refused his invitation. I definitely can't have freedom with the never-sleeping Roland in that room.

"I know you're fully able. But… Oh well, you're tired too. Take some rest." He said then went back to their room.

"Yeah, I'll do that." Is what I said but I've slept the whole time since we left the oasis. Don't blame me, it's too boring and I can't even complain so I did the most practical thing—sleep.

I slipped out our room through the window to avoid Leithe noticing me. Then I went towards an empty corridor and after making sure no one is around, I put on a dragon-shaped badge and called softly, "Dragon's Scared Brigandine, in the name of the descendants of Dragons, I command thee, activate!"

A tight black outfit instantly wrapped around my body, spreading from my chest towards the rest of my body. There were silvery, scale-like, armor covering on vital spots like my chest and the lower part of my body. Then my golden hair changed to black with silver streaks.

Now that I've finished changing, I went and looked around. I saw a tall tower and decided it would be better for me to observe on higher ground. I leaped from roof to roof with such speed that you wouldn't be able to hear my steps. I arrived at the top of the tower and examined the town. It was quite peaceful despite it being outside a God of Light territory.

It's weird for this to be this serene. Outside Forgotten Echo, the dark corruption's effect should have reached this place. Even the desert was affected after all.

I tried to use my mage sight to make sure the town's safe. It was then that I noticed a gathering of dark elements around the premises of this town.

_10… 20… 50… No, even more than that… A hundred maybe?_

What's this? There's too many undead outside. But based on their dark energy, they're somewhat low level and easy to destroy. We can't let them inside this town or else, no one would be left alive. But why are so many gathering here? Don't tell me it's our holy aura?

Argh! I can't stay here anymore, I have to tell the others. Guess I have no choice but to use telepathy. It was another advanced necromancy spell I've learned but I still consider this as just a mage spell.

"Attention, attention, holy knights of the God of Light, Creus here speaking. There's an awful number of undead nearing the town. They'll be arriving in a few minutes with the intent of destroying this place... probably. I'm heading towards the northern gate. Requesting for help, over!"

I sent the message and not too long after that, five men came running in my direction. Of course, I removed my assassin-disguise and went to my _handsome_ Sun Knight look.

My prediction was correct. It seems the army of undead coming towards us is made of weak ones and easy to handle but like what I have counted too, they're a little too many for a one-on-one combat.

"It seems our holy aura's attracting these creatures. But we can't let them in, right?" I told them. It would be catastrophic if we let them inside the village.

"Yes, we'll have to settle this outside. Come every one!" Leithe said then charged towards the undead group. Ecilan, Roland and Ceo followed closely and started taking them down. Elmairy also didn't waste any moment and started firing arrows killing every undead it lands upon.

*Sigh* These monsters don't seem to be a match to my companions. Well, they can all do it without my help, but since I can't take the image where they'll all reprimand me for not helping, I went and helped them. I used holy magic, of course, since I don't have any weapons with me. _And since I don't stand a chance if I use a sword. Ahem, I mean, I more skilled with my magic skills._

Oh well, the fight went on for some time. After nearly ending the one-sided massacre, one of the undead spoke.

"Are you trying to defy Kougaiji-sama?" It said staring intently at Roland beside me before receiving the arrow of death sent flying by Elmairy.

"Kougaiji. That's a name worth remembering." Leithe said.

"You're right. He may have something to do with all of this." Ceo assented.

I'm not sure but it seemed he wasn't talking to Roland at that moment. But among us, Roland's the oddest for he has the same dark aura as them. Well, we prevented the raid of undead and learned something about this phenomenon so I guess it's nothing.

After a tiring day and having to fight such a number on the same day was too much for my companions that right after the battle, they retreated to our rooms and snoozed to dreamland. And here I thought I'm faster when it comes to these things. I guess its ok for we'll set out first thing in the morning.

* * *

"Kougaiji-sama, there's some kind of movement from the east." A girl reported. The shadowed appearance from lack of light source covered her identity. It was same with the other three beings in the room.

"I already know. But, nobody will stop me." A guy replied with a grim tone. The voice suggests youth and nobility.

"Should we send him more as greeting?" a guy quite older than the other suggested. It was low yet having a tender appeal.

"Eh? Why don't we greet them instead? I'm tired of lazing around." A girl much younger than the other girl said. She had a playful yet bored tone.


End file.
